Whispers in the Dark
by XxBlackChaosxX
Summary: A year before Itachi leaves with the Akatsuki, he meets Ino and falls in love with her. But obviously, at age eight, she isn't ready to love him. A story of how far a man is willing to go for the one he loves. ItaIno
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

All his life, Uchiha Itachi had never worried about women or love or even sex. Though he was at the perfect age for it - fifteen - he never bothered with women in any way, shape, or form. He just couldn't be bothered with them. Despite this, females of Konohagakure obsessed over him as if he were the newest fashion line or style. This was to be expected, of course; he was already a prodigy of the Uchiha clan, along with the entire village. He was the most lethal weapon Konoha had, and so, naturally, became ANBU on his fifteenth birthday, which had passed a few months ago. There wasn't one citizen who didn't know his name and face, who didn't stare with wide eyes as he walked by. More often than not, a reputation of this stature was troublesome; people he had never seen before would approach him and ask for a spar - "Just one?" they would plead - and sometimes even useless things such as a photo or autograph. People couldn't get any more ridiculous than that. Despite this, Itachi would politely comply, giving the stranger anything they asked for without a word of complaint. This only boosted his popularity more.

As his own popularity grew, his Father's distaste for his younger brother followed. It was like a viscous cycle; the more renowned Itachi was, the weaker Sasuke seemed. Itachi loved his younger brother dearly - more so than the rest of his family - and so he tried to rectify Sasuke's solitude by spending as much time with him as possible. Sasuke enjoyed it, at least. Most of the time, Itachi was left alone as his little brother played with his friends - at the playground, as always.

That was exactly what he was doing now. As he sat against his favorite tree, Itachi watched from a distance as his brother played with his friends. The grass was cool between his fingers, the shade his tree provided pleasant. There was a light, crisp breeze that gently blew his bangs into his face. Looking up a little, Itachi entangled his fingers in his hair, pushing it back enough for him to see clearly again. On the play escape, Sasuke courageously jumped from his high perch and into the sand surrounding the area. The other children - boys, mostly - cheered their approval, some even attempting the jump themselves. But none of the others were able to land on their feet as perfectly as Sasuke had. He was praised, he was challenged. Sasuke took all comments with a smile large with victory. He looked over to Itachi. Their eyes met, and Itachi smiled slightly, nodding his approval. Sasuke's smile grew even wider as he returned his attention to his friends.

Itachi relinquished his bangs - the breeze gone - and turned half of his attention to the flowers around him. Some were weeds, but most were beautiful wildflowers. A particular blue one caught his eye, and he gently ran his finger around it, enjoying the soft feel of the petals against his skin. It was a little known fact that Uchiha Itachi enjoyed nature more than people or even training. Training as a close second to simply sitting and enjoying what he saw around him. Nature didn't need someone to talk to, didn't need to be taken care of. It existed before humans, and it would probably exist after. It was a silent testament to what used to be and what forever will be. Nature was everything, and it was nothing. Plain and simple.

Behind him - on the other side of his tree - Itachi's trained ears picked up the sound of soft footsteps, along with the sound of plants being plucked from the ground. Judging on the weight put into the footsteps, the careful way in which the flowers were being plucked, and the octave in which the person was humming, the person behind the tree was a female. Somewhere around Sasuke's age - ten. She was about an inch taller than his ototo, but close to the same weight - in a healthy way. Fingering his flower, Itachi patiently waited for the girl to come to his side of the tree.

As expected, the humming girl ventured to his side of the tree and, missing him completely, stared down at the boys on the play escape with an uncertain expression on her face. She bit her lower lip in indecision, then slowly looked down to Itachi. The girl studied him for a brief moment before looking to the flower he gently held in his right hand. He wasn't staring up at her - instead, he kept his gaze firmly locked on Sasuke and the play escape - and so he only barely saw the glow that overcame her porcelain face when she recognized the flower. "That's a _blue cosmos!" _She abandoned the flowers she had collected and ran over to the flower, bending down close as Itachi ran his finger up and down the flower's stem. "Do you know how _rare _it is to find these, Uchiha-dono?" She asked excitedly, looking up to him a little.

_What a powerful honorific, _Itachi thought as he left his onyx gaze slip over her. Of course, she knew his name - her friends or family probably spoke of him with reverence. He stared down at the little girl as she patiently waited for a response. Unlike other children her age, she didn't flinch away from his indifferent gaze - she seemed to welcome him completely, wanting him to speak. The girl sat upright, cross-legged, and stared up at him expectantly, unafraid. As Itachi silently stared her down, soaking in her appearance, the girl got more and more impaitent - something else he had never seen in a child her age. "Are you going to answer?" she demanded, folding her arms as her pretty face scrunched up in annoyance. She had evergreen eyes and pale blonde hair that was cut an inch above her shoulders, with jagged ends. Her skin looked like porcelain, but still seemed soft. It shined a little, crystal clear and unmarked.

"Nii-san," a second voice - Sasuke's - called from his front. Itachi looked away from the girl and to Sasuke, who was standing in front of him, his hands behind his back. "Can we go get some lunch, onegai?" A smile crept over the younger Uchiha's face. Looking to his right, past the blonde girl, Itachi spotted an ice-cream cart which all of the children in the playground were crowded around. Inwardly sighing, Itachi asked what it was Sasuke wanted. "Five ryo!" The younger said excitedly, jumping once in excitement. Keeping up that inward sigh, Itachi produced his walled from his pocket and handed Sasuke a ten-ryo bill. His ototo's face lit with excitement, but Itachi stopped him before he could run away.

"Get me and this girl something." Itachi ordered, relinquishing his flower to gesture towards her a little. It was only polite to supply a guest with food when you were eating.

The girl's face lit with excitement as her jaw dropped in surprise. She looked from Itachi to Sasuke, then back again. "I-you-I mean, uh...Domo arigato!" Itachi closed his eyes and waved the both of them away. They ran off excitedly, shouting at the other kids.

Itachi opened his eyes again and looked to his left, where the girl had originally abandoned her collection of plucked flowers. They had been tied together with a regular twine, and arranged in such a way that took each flower's individual beauty and turned the whole thing into one dazzling array. Each flower made the one beside it beautiful, up until the flower at the very center, which completed the beautiful bouquet. The girl was an artist - he had to give her that. He had never seen something so beautiful from a child so young.

"Do you like that?" The girl asked as she stood before him, licking her Popsicle in one hand and extending another towards him. He took it silently, tearing off the wrapping and licking it once. Triple chocolate with a hard outer shell made of chocolate. His favorite. "I made that by myself," she plowed on as she licked her Popsicle and sat beside him, bordering his flower with her legs, so that he would have to reach between them in order to stroke it. What a devious little girl she was. "with the flowers I found on the other side of the tree, along with some from the rest of the playground. You can have it if you want." A blush crept over her pale skin.

Itachi gave the bouquet a final once-over before setting it down again. He bit into his Popsicle, lolling the wonderful sweetness around in his mouth. The girl frowned and copied him silently.

Sasuke returned then, a smile on his lips as he bit into his own snack - something fruit-flavored, Itachi's nose revealed. He winced at the thought. Why eat ice cream if it was flavored as fruit? If one was to go through all that trouble, they might as well eat a regular fruit. "Did I get the right thing, Nii-san?" The younger Uchiha asked politely as he sat at Itachi's feet and looked away.

Itachi gave a small "Hn." of acknowledgment before taking another bite. He was not one to waste time on unnecessary words, like the girl sitting beside him seemed to be.

"It was the sweetest thing the ice cream man had," she snorted, wrinkling her nose as she licked her Popsicle again. Her ice cream of choice was vanilla. For some reason, Itachi found that interesting. He had never met someone with a taste for vanilla ice cream alone - most people put toppings on it. But this girl seemed to like it plain - she seemed to be enjoying her Popsicle as much as Itachi was. Interesting. Amazing, even.

"How can you eat plain vanilla like that, Ino-chan?" Sasuke asked for him. So Ino was her name. Itachi resisted the strong urge to wrinkle his nose in distaste. Personally, he thought of the name 'Ino' as a masculine name. But, masculine as it was, it somehow fit the blonde beside him.

Ino exhaled shakily - a weak giggle - and politely countered, "How can you eat fruity ice cream, Sasuke-kun?" Based on the way she got nervous when Sasuke had addressed her, the way she said his name, and the way she carefully countered his question with another of her own - that still was not in an offensive manner - Ino had some serious feelings for his sweet little brother. How cute.

Her reaction to his question made Sasuke blush a little as well. His face went blank with the emotion, and he looked away quickly. An awkward feeling blossomed in the air, keeping a heavy silence before another girl emerged from behind the tree, resting her right hand on it lightly. Without directly looking at her - Itachi had his gaze fixed straight ahead, as always - Itachi analyzed what he could of the girl. She had odd pink hair and emerald eyes that were sharper than Ino's evergreen. She wore a red bow atop her head, the knot visible at the very top. A fierce blush dominated her aolready-rosy skin as she held a delicate-looking flower in her left hand and extended it to Sasuke. She licked her lips nervously before beginning, "Um...Konnichiwa, Sasuke-kun." She managed a small step forward, letting go of her grip on the tree.

Sasuke looked over to her, a smile warming up on his face. "Hello, Sakura-chan," he responded politely, the smile fading slightly as his eyes flickered to the flower outstretched towards him. His brow furrowed in thought.

Sakura's eyes flickered to a silently-seething Ino, who had finished with her icecream and folded her arms tightly, her nose wrinkled in distaste. "K-konnichiwa, Ino-shinyuu."

"Don't call me that," Ino snapped harshly.

Sakura recoiled as if struck, then turned her attention back to Sasuke. Itachi observed the scene with a general interest; it seemed that Ino had been good friends with Sakura at one point, and that their friendship had ended abruptly when they both recognized their feelings for Sasuke. It was a real-life soap opera, but even better. Which girl did Sasuke prefer? Was he even old enough to care, anyway? Boys matured slower than girls - they barely began to notice the other sex's existence at Sasuke's age. What would happen if Sasuke rejected both girls? Would they go back to being friends, or would they despise one another more? This was one reason why Itachi kept his distance from others, but also why he didn't shut himself away completely. Watching humans struggle with one another, with themselves, was directly below training on his list of pastimes. "I-I know this one little flower isn't anywhere as beautiful as Ino-chan's beautiful boquet,"-she sheepishly smiled over at Ino in a sign of peace--"but I wanted you to have this." So Ino's beautiful bouquet of flowers were originally meant for Sasuke. But why, then, had Ino offered it to Itachi before Sasuke? Sakura closed her eyes in nervousness, thrusting the single flower towards Sasuke.

"Oh," Sasuke barely managed, "Domo arigato, Sakura-chan." He carefully took the flower and brought it close to his face, smelling it. Both Uchihas had finsihed their popsickles by now and had pooled them together in the middle of the three of them. Sasuke had accepted Sakura's single flower. Did that mean he preferred her to Ino? After a moment of silence, Sasuke carefully began, "W-would you like to...go play with me?"

Sakura opened her eyes in surprise and nodded vigorously, fighting down a smile. Sasuke gingerly returned her smile and stood, outstretching his free left hand. His new girlfriend didn't bother repressing her excitement now - she giggled uncontrollably, her smile plain on her face, as she took his hand in hers and moved off. Amuzing. This little love-triangle was nothing but that, if not more.

Beside him, Ino was silent for only the briefest of moments before producing an odd choking sound from deep within her throat. Looking over at her with only his eyes, Itachi watched in merciless amuzement as the little blonde slowly lost her composure, weakly fighting back tears. Her fists shot to her tearing eyes, and before Itachi was given the chance to witness the complete breakdown, Ino jumped to her feet and ran off, her footsteps silent to unperfected ears. But not Itachi's; he heard every miserable step the girl took as she ran and ran, away from the pain. After a while, though, they became inaudible even to he, leaving him with nothing to watch but his ototo's date, which was very boring.

Looking back to Sasuke and Sakura's chosen play area, Itachi replayed the day's events so far, analyzing and reanalyzing each particular confrontation as it happened, thinking up different possible outcomes based on even the slightest change of conversation. In about the fifteenth or so rerun of the day, Itachi realized that he could probably have saved Ino such a painful heartbreak if he had at least acknowledged her existence. Itachi chuckled once in morbid humor; it was a hollow sound, similar to something someone might sound like if they had been winded. He was not one for laughter.

The day was coming to an end - the sky was turning a bright yellow color as the first bits of sunlight were forced under the cover of the Earth's crusty blanket. The two Uchihas had been at the play ground since noon and, judging by the setting sun, it was somewhere around six in the afternoon now. Hesitating a moment as he soaked in the last bit of the beautiful scenery, Itachi slowly stood, stretching for the briefest of instants. As he looked around him, he realized that all of the other children had left some time ago; the swings creaked as only the wind pushed them, the atmosphere relieved of the children's high-picthed voices. As he leaned up against his tree - on his feet now - Itachi looked down to his blue cosmos.

His cosmos was where it should have been, but it had been crushed by frantic feet. Ino had accidentally trampled it to the ground as she ran away from her broken heart.

_What a waste, _Itachi thought with a distasteful frown as Sasuke approached, Sakura long gone. He followed his ototo out of the park as the younger boy prattled on about how much fun he had whith Sakura and how he asked to see her again tomorrow. Sasuke reported proudly that she had instantly agreed, which meant that Itachi was stuck babysitting again. He would have to either cancel his scheduled mission tomorrow, or leave Sasuke to find someone else to bring him to the park. Itachi seriously considered leaving his brother - something he did on a regular basis - but realized that he simply _had _to see the next episode of this enticing soap opera that he was tied into.

As they walked through the streets of Konoha, Itachi found himself completely ignoring his ototo - something which he had never done before - as he pondered his role in this quickly blossoming soap opera. He was not one for television, must less soaps - as his mother called them - but he found this situation to be nearly identical to one his mother chattered about to her friends. Why watch a television show based so nearly on reality when one could simply go out into the real world and experience the same thing personally? Ino's broken state flooded into his mind, and he suddenly knew the answer: Because reality was sometimes too hard to deal with. Because it was easier to watch an actor's life unravel as they played a part they were paid to do instead of actually bearing the pain.

Itachi's frown deepened as he thought of that. One reason eh kept his distance from others of his kind: they were too weak to deal with the feelings of life themselves, and so they put it on TV and watched other people weep over it.

Pushing down his overbearing distaste for the general populace, Itachi returned to his soap opera. Who was the star? The director? The character who everyone pretended to love but always abused? There were so many different roles, and only four actors in which to fill them. He thought about it more, deeply analyzing each of the four of them and categorizing them into as many different roles as he could think of. Most of the time, his 'characters' filled too many categories, and he would have to combine similar terms to make things simpler. It was actually amuzing, in an odd way that he didn't particularly like.

They made it back to the Uchiha house just in time for dinner. Shouting a happy greeting to their parents, Sasuke ran over to their mother and hugged her tightly, following her around the kitchen as she served dinner. Silently – as always – Itachi took his usual seet on the floor beside the table and waited. His father sat to his left, just as silent. After only a moment of the comfortable, soundless atmosphere at the table, his father spoke. "You'll be leaving for your mission tomorrow bright and early." It wasn't a question, nor a command. Just a simple statement that was laced with underlying demands.

"It was delayed," Itachi lied smoothly, his face and gaze revealing nothing – as usual.

"Delayed?" Fugaku asked, his expression and tone skeptical.

"Hn." He barely acknowledged. It was an ANBU mission – he was not obligated to answer anything. Technically, he wasn't supposed to – not even to his father, who was Konoha's head police chief. ANBU missions were always strictly confidential, although Itachi spoiled his father by indulging him in the outlines of the missions he preformed.

Sasuke and their mother set the table with everyone's plates, then took their respectful seats. Sasuke sat directly before him, his mother closing the rectangle to his right. Giving no traditional thanks for the meal – Itachi never thanked anyone – Itachi began to devour his meal. The icecream he had eaten at the park had stolen his appetite, albeit he had eaten it at least five hours ago. As he ate and listened to the conversations going on between the rest of his family, Itachi found his mind drifting away from them and to the little blonde girl - Ino, he recalled. He remebered his past analizations and frowned when he realized that he did not like Sasuke together with Sakura.

Scrunching his nose in distaste, Itachi quickly finished his meal and excused himself. There was no opposition from the rest of his family as he silently slunk to his room - he was ANBU; he could excuse himself. Itachi made decisions for himself - if his family did not approve, that was too bad. An ANBU had no need for a family's guidance.

In his room, Itachi lay on his bed, using his hands as an extra pillow, and stared up at the ceiling blankly. Ino's broken state drifted into his mind again, causing a frown to crease his olive skin. Why did he even care? He did not know a shred of information about the girl - what did it matter if she got hurt? People were always hurt in his presence - why was it any different with Ino?

The answer came almost instantly: _Because it had not been he who had inflicted the pain. Because it had been Sasuke instead. _

Itachi's frown intensified. He did not like the idea of Sasuke being with Sakura. Not that he wanted Ino with his ototo instead; it was just the Sasuke and Sakura seemed _wrong _somehow.

An unconscious will brought him to his feet and to the window. Itachi looked out at the sleeping Konoha nonchalantly and wished he knew Ino's last name. That was when he realized, with a reproach for his stupidity, that Sasuke would know.

Just as Itachi turned from his window and faced the door, Sasuke knocked on it from the other side. Itachi knew it was his brother even before the call, "Nii-san! Nii-san!" Silently, Itachi opened his door and asked what he wanted. "Since your mission was delayed, will you bring me to the park again tomorrow? Maybe train a little with me? _Onegai_?" Itachi nodded wordlessly. Without any action at all, things were moving in his favor. All he had to do was manuver correctly. Carefully, Itachi invited his little brother into his room - something that rarely happened. Sasuke's joy was apparent as he sat on Itachi's bed, a wide smile lighting his porcelain skin. Itachi slowly took a seat beside his brother, careful to keep a certain distance between them - Itachi was very grateful to the invention of the phrase "Personal space."

Without any speech on his part, Sasuke started his prattling. Itachi had only to pay attention, skimming Sasuke's words for any mention of Ino. Eventually, it came: "I feel bad for Ino-chan, but Sakura-chan's so much prettier and nicer..." Casually, Itachi asked his ototo Ino's last name. Sasuke's nose wrinkled at that, but he answered, "Yamanaka. That clan specializes in the Mind Transfer Jutsu. They also own a small flower shop below their apartment on Fujuyaku Avenue. Right down the street from Sakura-chan." He blushed at that last thought.

Fighting down the urge to scowl at the mention of Sakura, Itachi nodded. He had already known everything about the Yamanakas - all he had needed was the name. Based on the beautiful bouquet of flowers Ino had created the day before, she was most definitely related to the clan. He should have been able to guess that - especially with her blonde hair and evergreen eyes. Telltale signs that the person belonged to the Yamanaka. Carefully, Itachi explained to his brother that it was time to go to bed, that he had a big day tomorrow. Sasuke complained, but didn't put up a fight. He closed the door to Itachi's room behind him, muttering a small "Oyasuminasai." as he did so.

Itachi waited paitently for Sasuke's footsteps to dissapear down the hall before silently leaving out of the back door of his room. The night air was crisp, refreshing. Something about it enhanced the brightness of the stars above him. Despite the beauty of the night, Itachi did not spend long contemplating. Instead, he donned his ANBU mask - the weasel - and jumped off in the direction of the Yamanaka household.

* * *

**Translations:**

**Ototo - Little brother **

**Nii-san - Older brother **

**Onegai - Please **

**Domo arigato - Thank you very much **

**Konnichiwa - Good morning/day **

**Shinyuu - Best friend **

**Oyasuminasai - Good night **

_A/n_

_...I love this pairing 8D..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Itachi sat perched in a tree outside Yamanaka Ino's window, concealed in the shadows of night. Sharingan eyes stared into the room, intently watching the little blonde girl as she curled up tightly on her bed, sobbing. She was still crying, even after so much time had passed. It was difficult to tell whether or not she was asleep because she was still murmuring her thoughts. Based on the way she spoke, however, Itachi deemed it plausible to say that she was asleep.

For a long while, Itachi carefully listened to her sleep-talk, analyzing her thoughts on the day's happenings. At the beginning of the night, all she talked about was her hatred and jealousy of Sakura and her woes of loosing Sasuke. But then, as the night progressed, she began to talk more and more of Itachi. "I'm sorry, Itachi-kun, sorry I made myself look so weak in front of you. Sorry I crushed your beautiful flower. You're so much better than Sasuke-kun...Please...why won't you ever talk to me? Am I that horrible? Aren't I good enough for you to acknowledge?"

Her little plea halted, and Itachi took the time to dangerously answer her. "You simply have not spoken anything worth answering. I acknowledged you, Ino-chan. I know you're there." Although he spoke in his softest voice, it still seemed like it was cutting through the silence. Itachi had expected someone with trained ears to pick up the sound of his voice, but apparently this way not so. "You are not alone, Ino-chan. You have not been left behind."

That was when Ino began to stir. "Nngh...Itachi-kun, is that you...?" the little blonde sat upright and looked out the window, rubbing her left eye, and strained to see.

Itachi pressed himself deeper into the shadows, warily keeping himself out of Ino's field of vision. What would happen if the girl went back and told her parents she had heard someone outside her window? Itachi analyzed every possible situation and its outcome and decided that it would be best to reveal himself. Slowly, he crept into the moonlight, carefully balancing on the tree's branch.

This was enough for Ino's sharp eyes to detect. "Itachi-kun," she breathed, leaning on the window-frame and carefully sticking her head out. The moonlight shined down on her porcelain skin, making her evergreen eyes seem ocean blue. They were large with surprise. Her mouth was slightly parted, holding still the remnants of his name.

Itachi was silent for a long moment before answering, "Hai. It is me."

"W-what are you doing here?" Ino stuttered. She seemed to be unsuccessful in making him out completely. "And why don't you come into the light, where I can see you?"

Her voice was too loud for his preferences. Wincing at the octave, he calmly ordered her to speak quietly before explaining, "I can't risk someone seeing me. No one must know I was here. Do you understand, Ino-chan?" Ino nodded numbly, eyes wide with some sort of amazement. "Good. Now, you must understand that you cannot speak of this to anyone else. It will get me into a lot of trouble. Do you understand?" His voice was velvet smooth and very convincing, based on the awe in Ino's large eyes.

"H-hai. I understand, Itachi-kun." Her voice was barely above a whisper, but easily detected by his trained ears. "Can you hear me at this volume?"

"Perfectly," he answered, barely loud enough for her to hear. "You?"

Ino scrunched her nose in displeasure, murmuring, "Barely. Can't you speak a _little _louder?"

"Fine," he murmured, his voice now slightly louder. He could see that he would never be able to say no to this girl.

"There, that's better." Ino whispered, satisfied. "Now, what are you doing here?" She folded her arms in suspicion.

He had already prepared himself for that. "I'm on a mission."

"Why aren't you doing anything, then?"

"I completed it. I'm on my way home now."

"Your clan's house is on the other side of the village."

Damn, she was good. With a sigh, he admitted, "I wanted to see you." Already, he was unable to keep anything from her. And he hated it.

This was not what Ino expected, because she gasped softly in surprise. "R-really?" she stuttered, her beautiful eyes wide with surprise. Obviously, she did not have the skill to hide her emotions. "W-why?"

"I don't know," he admitted. With a pride and ego as insurmountable as his, Itachi was not going to admit that he feared for her wellfare. "You'll see me again tomorrow," the Uchiha told her as he turned away. "I'm going to bring Sasuke to the park again. I expect you to be there."

"Why? Sasuke-kun's going out with Sakura now."

"I'll be there." With that, he jumped off in the direction of the Uchiha estate.

* * *

Odd sensations wrapped themselves around Itachi's heart as he walked Sasuke to the playground the next morning. It was a feeling similar to that of what he felt before a mission. His heart beat in a similar way, only faster and more urgently. Although he expertly hid these feelings from Sasuke, Itachi was unable to stop them from attacking his heart. He was...nervous. Excited. They were not feelings he experienced on a normal basis.

So why was he feeling anything at all?

Itachi took his usual spot against his tree in the playground, hardly able to breathe. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, mentally scolding himself. He had met Ino only yesterday, and already he was anxious to see her again. Never before had he been so anxious to see someone. Never before had he cared about one event so much.

Taking in another breath, this one smaller than the last, Itachi willed the nervousness and anticipation away. He was an ANBU, after all, and so this was no great task. Almost immediately, he was back to his normal thought mentality.

With his anticipation under control, Itachi opened his eyes once more and watched his little brother as he located Sakura and took her hand in his. They moved off to a little clearing and sat down, playing alone.

From behind, someone whispered his name. "Itachi-kun." It was Ino.

Itachi's heart went into double-time at the sound of her voice, though he expertly hid it as he looked over his shoulder at her. "Ohiyo, Ino-chan." He replied courteously as she took a seat beside him.

"Good morning, Itachi-kun!" Ino giggled, her bubbly voice music to Itachi's ears. She put a bouquet of flowers on his lap, explaining, "I put these together for you before I came here."

The elder Uchiha studied the flowers in his lap for a moment before replying, "Domo arigato. They're…beautiful."

Ino smiled. "You're welcome." She rested against the tree and began, "Sooooooo….What's up?"

Itachi inwardly groaned, remembering Ino wasn't one for silence. At the same time, he realized he had asked her to come to the playground. That alone obligated him to talk to her more than usual. Continuing his inward groan, he replied, "Nothing. I skipped a mission to come here."

The little girl's eyes widened in amazement. "You must be a great ninja," she reasoned softly.

"You've heard of me," Itachi said flatly. It wasn't a question.

Ino nodded once. "My father speaks very highly of you, alone with every other ninja I know."

Of course. He was practically a celebrity – possibly even more famous than the Hokage. Itachi somberly nodded. "Everyone knows of me, although I do not know of all of them. It is very tedious."

Ino blinked, confusion across her adorable face. "What's 'tedious' mean?"

Itachi chuckled at his own ignorance. He had forgotten that Ino was only eight years old, and that she would not know such big words. "Please excuse my rudeness. 'Tedious' basically means 'troublesome.'"

"Oh, okay! I get it." She giggled as she rubbed the back of her head. Damn, she was adorable. No wonder he was unable to deny her. After a short silence, Ino began, "Hey, Itachi-kun, let's go on the swings!"

"I can't. I'm supposed to be - " Itachi's voice cut itself off as his eyes flickered over to where Sasuke had been. Almost twenty minutes had passed, and in that entire time, all of his attention had been fixed on Ino. Anger bubbled within him as his onyx eyes searched the playground for Sasuke. Never before had he given one thing all of his attention; normally, he was always alert, always completely aware of his surroundings.

Not today, apparently.

"He's over there," Ino said offhandedly, gesturing to her right. Itachi followed the gesture with his eyes and, sure enough, Sasuke sat in a sandbox, building a sandcastle with Sakura.

Itachi frowned deeply, angry with himself for being so careless. If that had happened during a mission...his teammates could have died. The same thing could have happened to his younger brother, and he never would have known. How foolish.

"Don't be so mad," Ino murmured as she leaned against the tree.

Itachi shook his head. "You don't understand how important it is to be in charge of someone. Especially a sibling who is younger than you. Anything could have happened whilst my attention was away from him."

Ino smiled fondly. "You're a good brother, Itachi-kun. No wonder why Sasuke-san wants to be just like you when he gets older."

He picked up on the lower-level honorific she had used on Sasuke. Before, it had been Sasuke-kun. Now it was -san? Itachi wondered what that meant. He ran the possibilities in his mind. The most likely possibility was that Ino liked Itachi more and Sasuke less.

The thought made him smile.

"Wow," Ino breathed, breaking his thoughts and calling his attention, "Itachi-kun...You look so beautiful when you smile!" She moved hair away from his face. "Why don't you smile more?"

Their eyes met, and Itachi was awestruck at how beautiful Ino was. His mouth watered, and for once in his life, he was confused. Itachi was overwhelmed with the urge to...to feel her lips with his.

But she was just a girl; eight years old. And he was a teenager; six years her superior, at fourteen. There was no possible way that she would be feeling the same urges as he. Itachi had a feeling he just truly his puberty.

Lost in her eyes, Itachi lost his infallible sense of logic. He closed his eyes and leaned forward slowly.

His lips connected with hers and, for an instant, it was wonderful. Then Ino began to struggle against him, disconnecting the kiss and roughly pushing him away. She jumped to her feet and wiped off her mouth with her right hand, glaring at him angrily. The little blonde was panting slightly as a tear rolled down her cheek.

At the sight of her tears, Itachi's rational mind instantly reappeared. "Ino-chan," he whispered, unable to believe that he had committed such a heinous act, "I'm so sorry. I never meant to - "

Ino cut him off. "I thought you were different! You're so much stronger than everyone in the village, so much smarter...People look up to you! Everyone loves you! All they ever do is talk about how excellent you are. But in the end, you're no better than anyone else. You're a disgusting pic who thinks only of himself!" She ran away before giving him a chance to respond.

Itachi stared at the Yamanaka's back as she ran away from the playground for a second time. He was too shocked to call out to her or move. A hollow feeling dug itself into his core, settling there and freezing him from the inside out. His mind was literally frozen; no thoughts were being processed, no neurons connecting. All he saw or heard, over and over again, was Ino's response to the kiss.

He was not sure how long he sat there. But when Sasuke finally jarred his consciousness into action, the sun had already set. Hadn't they arrived at the playground at noon? "Aniki, aniki," the younger chanted, "Aniki, c'mon! We have to hurry home or we'll be late for dinner. Nii-san? Nii-san, what's wrong with you?"

Finally, he was able to sum up a response. "Oh, yes. Time to go home." He stood, trying to act normal, although he knew there was no explaining that episode.

They walked silently for a while, slowly, before Sasuke asked, "What's going on between you and Ino-chan, Nii-san? Earlier you both seemed to have fun, and then later she ran away in tears. What - ?"

Itachi cut him off. "None of that, ototo." He said nothing else.

The rest of the way home was silent. Sasuke happily ran up to their mother and hugged her whilst Itachi stealthily moved off to his room. He had no appetite for dinner.

Itachi went straight to bed, hating himself, hoping to sleep until dawn.

* * *

Of course, he was not fortunate enough to sleep all the way to the next day. His eyes flickered open at what he thought to be midnight, the moon high in the night sky. He sat upright and yawned silently, realizing that he had slept in his clothes.

Thoughtlessly, Itachi sat upright, looking out his large window. Ino flashed through his mind, bringing tremendous waves of guilt along with her. Frowning at the emotion, Itachi slipped through the window silently and made his way to Ino's house.

Once there, Itachi perched on the tree outside Ino's house and peered into her window. His excellently-trained ninja ears easily picked up the sound of her automatic breathing, of her sleep-talk. Listening carefully, Itachi barely breathed as Ino whispered in her sleep, "Itachi-kun...I really do like you. Why...did you have to do that? Boys aren't supposed to do that to girls. Why...?"

Itachi closed his eyes, wishing he could close his ears. He wanted to apologize, to soothe her erratic subconscious, but the words were locked inside, behind impossible barriers. Slowly, the words leaked out of him, although no sounds were produced. "Ino-chan, I'm so sorry I did that to you. So, so sorry..." His lips were moving, but no sound cascaded from them.

He did not have the courage or strength to make his voice audible. Hating himself all over again, Itachi turned away and silently left.

* * *

**Translations: **

**Hai - Yes/right **

**Domo arigato – Thank you very much **

**Aniki - Respectible term for an older sibling (can be male or female)**

**Nii-san - Respectible term for an older brother**

**Ototo - Younger brother **

_Aww, I feel bad for Itachi-kun :( But things will work out in his favor. Ino can't resist :)))_


End file.
